Information on mental illnesses, disorders and diseases.
Sun West School Division has developed an optional course based on student interest in the area of mental wellness as an elective at the 30 level. Mental Wellness A30L will provide an extension of the skills and knowledge acquired in the Wellness 10 course, and will consist of both theory and applied learning using low- and high-level technologies.
Mental Wellness Basics introduces students to concepts related to mental health and wellness. Stigma associated with mental health can have serious and negative impacts on help-seeking behaviors, and many mental health conditions and symptoms can be significantly lessened through prevention. As such, the lessons in this course focus on:
Supporting students in identifying threats to mental health early, and taking measures to increase factors that protect mental health.
Introducing students to the experiences of others in order to develop awareness and empathy, reduce stigma, and provide facts on the prevalence and symptoms of mental health conditions.
Fostering a mental health mindset to help students develop feelings of self-efficacy and skills that promote and model advocacy for self and others.
This Course Covers
Self Awareness
Self Management
Relationship Skills
Social Awareness
Responsible Decision-Making
Student activities for Social and Emotional Learning and mental wellness. Each skill includes information, resources, materials needed and activities.
"Prairie South's online Wellness Room provides individuals with tools, activities, and resources to support them with their Mental Health. There are “toolboxes” for parents, kids, teens, and teachers with great videos, articles, and websites."
Mental Wellness supports for parents who want to learn more about supporting their children. This pager includes truths about mental health, most common brain health problems, symptoms of depression and suicide, help supports that include books, community supports and online resources.
Mental Wellness – Basics is a course that introduces adolescents to concepts related to mental health and wellness. Stigma associated with mental health can have serious and negative impacts on help-seeking behaviors, and many mental health conditions and symptoms can be significantly lessened through prevention. As such, this course will do the following:
Support students in identifying threats to mental health early, and taking measures to increase factors that protect mental health.
Attempt to reduce stigma by introducing students to the experiences of others in order to develop awareness and empathy, as well as by providing facts on the prevalence and symptoms of mental health conditions.
Foster a mental health mindset in students and help them develop feelings of self-efficacy by introducing knowledge and skills that promote and model advocacy for self and others.
This Course Covers
Self Awareness
Self Management
Relationship Skills
Social Awareness
Responsible Decision-Making
Learn about mental health and how to improve it to benefit you. Also get information on mental illness, its risk factors, symptoms, treatment and suicide prevention.
With Mentimeter you have lots of options. One great option is to create interactive quizzes that will make your classroom fun. What better way to get students excited about learning than to introduce a fun interactive game or quiz to the classroom? Create some friendly rivalry between students and create a sense of community by using an interactive quiz. Switch up standard teaching techniques and wake up students with some interactive games.
Mentimeter allows you to build interactive presentations with the easy-to-use online editor. Add questions, polls, quizzes, slides, images, gifs and more to your presentation to create fun and engaging presentations.
Your audience uses their smartphones to connect to the presentation where they can answer questions. Visualize their responses in real-time to create a fun and interactive experience.
Once your Mentimeter presentation is over, share and export your results for further analysis and even compare data over time to measure the progress of your audience.'
This great site makes learning about microbiology accessible to any ages.
There are some great games and stories available.
Download and print the card game GUTSY to learn about helpful microbes and pathogens!
Shakshouka is a pretty easy recipe that can be made a few different ways. It is often claimed as an Israeli dish, but that’s not accurate as it’s a dish served in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
Never in the history of humanity have so many people been feeling intense anxiety related to COVID-19 and the world it will leave in its wake. The intent of this course is to give a deeper understanding of the anxiety reaction as it relates to various aspects of our current life, ranging from our consumption of news to the way we talk to children about this. Clear strategies are given for managing and, in fact, turning off the anxiety response at least for short periods. This course will offer a better understanding of how your brain reacts to crises, along with some powerful tools for managing it before it manages you.
Never in the history of humanity have so many people been feeling intense anxiety related to COVID-19 and the world it will leave in its wake. The intent of this course is to give you a deeper understanding of the anxiety reaction as it relates to various aspects of our current life, ranging from our consumption of news to the way we talk to our children about this. You will also be given clear strategies for managing and, in fact, turning off the anxiety response at least for short periods. You will leave this course with a better understanding of how your brain reacts to crises, along with some powerful tools for managing it before it manages you.
Anabolic steroids are artificial versions of a hormone that's in all of us -- testosterone. Some people take anabolic steroid pills or injections to try to build muscle faster. But these steroids also have other effects. They can cause changes in the brain and body that increase risks for illness and they may affect moods.
Cocaine is made from the leaf of the coca plant. It often comes in the form of a white powder that some people inhale through their nose. Another form of cocaine, known as crack, can be smoked. Cocaine changes the way the brain works by changing the way nerve cells communicate.
Maybe you haven't heard of inhalants, but you probably come across them pretty often. Hair spray, gasoline, spray paint -- they are all inhalants, and so are lots of other everyday products. Many inhalants have a strong smell. That's why they're called inhalants: Some people inhale the vapors on purpose. Why would anyone do this? Because the chemicals in these vapors can change the way the brain works, and those changes can make people feel very happy for a short time. But inhalants can also do harm.
You may have heard it called pot, weed, grass, ganja or skunk, but marijuana by any other name is still a drug that affects the brain. Did you know marijuana can cause some people to lose focus on events around them? It makes others more aware of their physical sensations, and it has still more effects on other people. All these different changes are caused by chemicals that affect the brain. More than 400 chemicals are in the average marijuana plant. When smoked, heat produces even more of them!
Methamphetamine is a powerful drug. It acts by changing how the brain works. It also speeds up many functions in the body. Methamphetamine has a chemical structure that is similar to another drug called amphetamine that I explore in my magazine on stimulants. Methamphetamine can cause lots of harmful things, including inability to sleep, paranoia, aggressiveness, and hallucinations.
Mindbodygreen is a lifestyle media brand dedicated to helping people live their best life mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally and environmentally.
"Here you’ll find a 360-degree approach to wellness that weaves the mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and environmental aspects of well-being together, because we believe that these pillars of health are all interconnected."
Topic areas include:
Mindfulness
Health (including mental health)
Parenting
Food
Movement
Beauty
To begin this lesson I introduced the concept of mindfulness as being more than an empty mind but rather focusing on the present and staying in the moment and being in the now. Shared a video on Mindfulness from GoStrengthsOnline called Teaching Mindfulness to Children At Home and In Schools. We discussed other ways we can be mindful in addition to sitting and meditating or doing deep breathing. Introduced the concept of mindful colouring – focusing on the now (What am I doing now? What color am I choosing and what part of the image will I colour with it?) I shared an image that I’ve been working on and discussed my colour choices the feelings I had while coloring it. Following their art work students used an iPad to record their colour choices and thoughts/feelings they had throughout the project.
- Make eating an event. If you feel like you want to eat, take the time to eat mindfully and with a focus on only the food you are eating. (Not watching T.V. or doing something else at the same time).
- Be mindful of how full you make your plate, by closely observing each scoop you put on.
- Once your plate is full to the desired amount take a moment to closely look at what is on your plate. Notice the colors, the textures, the shapes, and the aroma of the food.
- Next, take a moment to think about your body. Does your body feel hungry? Is your mouth salivating? Do you feel thirsty? Do you feel relaxed and ready to eat mindfully?
- While looking at your plate, take three deep slow breaths. Relax your body and prepare for eating.
- While eating, take your time in every bite. Chewing slowly, noticing the texture and taste in your mouth. Move the food around in your mouth and notice the different tastes on the different sides of your mouth.
- Chew each bite well, this aids in digestion as well as slowing eating down.
- Enjoy being in the present moment, and enjoy each bite you take. Think of peace, joy, contentment and happiness while you eat.
- Eat in silence if you are alone and think about the nourishment your food is providing.
- If with another, put on soft dining music, light candles and talk in soft tones. Talk about the food you are eating with one another. Talk about the flavor, color textures. Make everyday meals an event!
- There is no need to place your fork down between bites if it becomes a distraction. Do what feels comfortable to you. All you need to do is eat slowly, thinking about each bite and the taste.
- Eat until you feel the sensation of fulfillment and the feeling of hunger has passed.
- Notice your last few bites of food with as much intention as your first few bites.
- Upon finishing your meal, take a moment to notice that your plate may be empty or you may still have food upon it and that your hunger is satisfied either way and you have noticed this.
- Take a moment to feel gratitude that your hunger is satisfied and you have eaten a nutritious meal.
- Notice that you have been kind to yourself and feel proud of yourself for taking this opportunity to nourish your body.